


After the Trial

by SugdenLovesDingle



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-04
Updated: 2017-02-04
Packaged: 2018-09-21 22:07:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9568823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SugdenLovesDingle/pseuds/SugdenLovesDingle
Summary: How I'd like to see the storyline with Aaron's court case play out.





	

**Author's Note:**

> The legal stuff in this fic is 100% bullshit, my knowledge of the UK legal system comes from British soaps and the police shows/murder mysteries my mum likes to watch.

Aaron checked the time on his phone. 4.30 AM. He sighed and looked at Robert sleeping next to him. His husband. They’d gotten married two days ago. A quick trip to the registry office and a party in the pub. Not exactly the Vegas wedding they’d planned but after all that had happened lately they weren’t very likely to even make it to Manchester anymore, let alone Vegas.

“I don’t care where or how, I just want to marry you.” Robert had told him but Aaron still felt bad for not being able to give him the perfect fairytale wedding.

In four hours’ time they’d have to leave for court. His sentencing in five. He might have spent his last night in his own bed for a long time. The thought of having to leave Robert and Liv and the rest of his family made his throat close up and his head spin. He decided to get up and make some tea to calm himself down. He slipped out of bed, pulled on some clothes and went down to the kitchen.

After he’d made his tea he started scrolling through his messages on his phone. Most of them from Adam telling him everything was going to be fine and to stop worrying. He’d always loved his best friend but lately he’d come to appreciate him even more. After the whole thing with Kasim and Finn, Adam was still on his side. Never even considering doing anything else.

“I thought I’d find you here.”

Aaron looked up from his phone and saw his husband shuffling into the kitchen, still half asleep and dressed in one of his hoodies.

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“Nerves?” Robert asked, sitting down next to him.

“Yeah... can’t help but think this is the last night I’ve spent here.”

“No, it’s not. You and I are both going to be back here tonight. Nothing is going to happen.”

“You don’t know that.” Aaron said, staring at his tea. “I have a record. Prior offences. They look at that too.”

“I know. But you know we have a good case. You were protecting a friend.”

“If... I don’t come home today... promise me you’ll look after Liv for me.” Aaron said a few minutes later, trying to keep the tears from falling.

“Of course. But you will come home. And we’ll move into the mill soon and all of this will just be a bad memory.”

Aaron gave him a small smile.

“Even DS Wise said it’s unlikely you’ll get anything but community service and a fine. That it all looked worse than it actually was. And we have the best solicitor in the country arguing your case... we’ll be fine.”

“And if not, at least we’re married now so we can get conjugal visits, eh?”

“Don’t even joke about that.” Robert said and kissed him. “And I don’t think the UK has that so you better just come home with me. Come on, let’s go back to bed.”

***

“The judge is on our side.” Robert said to no-one in particular as he sat down in between Chas and Liv in the courtroom. “Not a big fan of locking people up and throwing away the key.”

“How do you know?” Liv asked.

“Michael just said so.” Robert told her, nodding at the solicitor standing next to Aaron. “He’s the expert. He says he’s never lost a case with this judge.”

“If he can keep my boy out of prison he can drink for free in my pub for life.” Chas mumbled as the judge entered the courtroom.

“He will.” Robert said, grabbing Chas’ hand and wrapping an arm around Liv’s shoulders. “He has to.”

“Mister Dingle...” The judge started.

“It’s Dingle – Sugden Your Honour. My client got married a few days ago. It seems the name change hasn’t made it to your papers yet.” Michael said, knowing it would at least make Aaron feel slightly better and make him seem more respectable.

“Very well mister Walker.” The judge said and turned his attention back to Aaron. “Mister Dingle – Sugden, good morning. I'm sure you would like to get this over with as soon as possible, so let's begin shall we.”

Aaron nodded. Michael had instructed him to keep quiet as much as possible.

“He barely slept last night. He’s exhausted.” Robert mumbled, eyes not leaving his husband.

“We’ll spoil him when we get home.” Chas replied, squeezing Robert’s hand a little tighter.

The judge heard both sides of the story once again and seemed understanding when Michael mentioned Aaron’s mental health issues due to Gordon’s abuse.

“He’s making Aaron sound like a nutcase.” Liv complained.

“It’s part of the plan.” Robert told her. “They’ll be less likely to throw him in a cell if they think he needs help sorting out his head.”

“Where did you find him anyway?” Chas asked.

“He used to work for Lawrence. I met him while I was working for him too. Lawrence always said he was the best.”

“Considering both your earlier offences and your mental state as a result from the abuse you suffered as a child,” The judge said, addressing Aaron again at the end of the hearing to let him know the punishment the court had decided for him. “I don’t think prison is the right place for you.”

“Oh thank god.” Chas said under her breath and watched some tension slip from her son’s body.

“I think you would benefit more from professional help. I have decided to sentence you to 300 hours of community service and weekly counselling sessions for as long as deemed necessary by a court approved professional. Do you understand this ruling?”

“Yes, Your Honour.”

“I wish you good luck with your counselling, and congratulations on the marriage.”

“Thank you, Your Honour.” Aaron said and gave the judge a small smile.

“Your solicitor will help you sort out the details of your community service and counselling. You are now free to go. I hope I won’t see you back in this court again.”

Aaron nodded and let the tears that had been burning his eyes the entire hearing fall as he turned around to his family. Robert had his arms wrapped around Chas and Liv, the three of them crying from happiness and relief.

***

“I’m not a kid Robert. You don’t have to drive me or walk me in.” Aaron said as Robert parked the car in front of the animal shelter Aaron was supposed to do his community service.

“I know. But I want to. And I have a work thing near here anyway.”

“You mean you’re going to the nearest McDonald’s and sit at a table with your laptop until I’m done here for the day.”

“What? No! I really have a work thing!”

“Starbucks then? I’ve seen your schedule. I know you don’t have anything on today.”

“What? How do you know my schedule?”

“Your passcode is our anniversary.” Aaron said and kissed his husband’s cheek. “Soft lad.”

“It’s your first day! I know you’re nervous. I’M nervous.”

“I know... but the worst part is over now. The worst thing that will happen to me here is them making me shovel shit. I can handle that.”

Robert sighed.

“I know, I know.”

“I’ll text you when I’m done ok? You can come pick me up and we’ll grab some take out on the way home.”

“Yeah. Sounds good.”

Aaron smiled and kissed Robert.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” Robert said as Aaron got out of the car. “And for the record, I was planning on going to Costa!”

Aaron chuckled and opened the door and walked into the shelter.

“Hi, I’m Aaron, I’m supposed to start working here today. I’m looking for Darren Knight.” He said to the girl at the front desk.

“Oh right, Darren said you’d be coming in today. I’ll go get him for you. He’ll show you what to do and where to put your stuff.” She said and got up from her seat and extended her hand to Aaron. “I’m Sharon by the way.”

“Hi.” Aaron said and shook her hand.

“I’ll be right back.” 

Aaron nodded and looked around the place. There were posters on the walls urging people to adopt a pet instead of buying one, information leaflets about adoption procedures and photos of shelter animals looking new homes. It reminded him a little of the waiting room in Paddy’s clinic.

“Hey Aaron, right? I’m Darren.” A man Aaron guessed to be around 40 said as he walked up to him and shook his hand while giving him a friendly smile. “So, you’re coming to help us out for a while?”

“Ah yeah I am.”

“Great. We can always do with an extra pair of hands around here. Do you want a cup of tea or shall we just get started?”

“Darren likes to start the day slowly with lots of tea.” Sharon teased.

“Hey it’s still early, the dogs aren’t awake yet either.” Darren replied and Aaron felt the knot in his stomach slowly disappearing. These people were friendly and treating him like he was just a regular guy coming to help out instead of some thug serving a sentence.

“I’d like some tea.”

“Good man.” Darren said and motioned for Aaron to follow him. “This is our canteen. It’s not much but well... it does what it’s supposed to I guess.” He said with a shrug. “You can hang up your jacket here.

They sat down and Aaron watched Darren make tea.

“Milk and sugar is on the table.” The man said as he handed him a mug. “So, are you from around here Aaron?”

“Yeah, I live in Emmerdale.”

“Oh Emmerdale, I used to go out there to drink with my friends when I was about your age. In the Woolpack. Does that place still exist?”

Aaron smiled.

“It does. My mum owns it. I live there. Along with my husband and half of our family.”

Darren nodded.

“Family man then are you?”

“I suppose. It gets a little crowded at times. But we bought a house not too long ago and we’re working on that. My husband is convinced we can move in by the summer but I think we should count our blessings if it’s ready by Christmas.”

“You’ve not been married long have you?” Darren asked. “You keep playing with your ring.” He added when Aaron gave him a confused look.

“Ah no. Just a little over a week actually.”

“Really? Shouldn’t you be on your honeymoon then?”

Aaron shrugged.

“We’ve postponed it. Until after the house is done and everything.”

“Right, right. Well if you finish your tea we can get started. We’ll let the dogs out into the meadow so they can play and do their morning exercise while we clean the kennels. It’s hard work and it can get dirty so I hope you don’t mind that.”

“Not at all. I work in a scrap yard normally so I’m used to hard work.”

“Perfect.”

When they’d finished their tea, Darren led Aaron to the kennels and they went to work.

“Why is this one not outside?” Aaron asked, nodding at the dog in the kennel he was just about to start cleaning.

“Ah yeah that’s Bruce. He doesn’t play well with most of the others so we only let him out on his own. Nobody goes that side of the bars while he’s in there.” Darren warned him.

“Is he aggressive?” Aaron asked.

Darren made a face.

“I don’t like that word. Misunderstood is more like it. He came in with two friends about a year ago. One of them died and the other was adopted almost right away. A little yappy thing you know. People like that.”

Aaron nodded and looked at the dog again.

“He looks like a shepherd.”

“Yeah that’s what we thought. Shepherd mix. About 2 to 3 years old. But he’s big and dark and scary so nobody wants him. He’ll probably be in here the rest of his life.” Darren said and sighed.

“He never goes outside?”

“He can go outside when the others are in. While you clean his kennel.”

Aaron crouched down in front of the kennel.

“I know it’s not ideal but there’s no other way.” Darren explained. “He’s perfectly healthy so he’s not getting put down. He just comes with an instruction manual, you know.”

Aaron nodded and thought the same could be said about himself.

“Come on.” Darren said, patting his shoulder. “We have work to do.”

***

“Just come in for a minute. Help me hand out the treats.” Aaron pleaded with his husband. It had been a few weeks since he’d started working at the shelter and he liked it a lot more than he thought he would.

“Don’t they feed these dogs themselves?” Robert asked as he got out of the car.

“Of course they do. But they don’t have the money to give them a little something extra every now and then. That’s where we come in.”

Robert smiled.

“I should have known you’d fall in love with each and every one of these dogs.”

“Shut up.” Aaron grumbled but couldn’t hide the smile on his face.

“Hey Aaron, I thought you’d left already.” Sharon said when she noticed the two men.

“I did. But I’m back. I picked up a little something for the dogs.” Aaron said, holding up a plastic bag.

“And you brought reinforcements I see.” She said and nodded at Robert. “Is that the husband?”

Aaron laughed.

“Yeah, yeah that’s him. Robert, this is Sharon, she’s the boss here out front. Sharon, this is my husband Robert.”

“Nice to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you I feel like I know you already.” Sharon told Robert as she shook his hand.

“Really?”

“No.” Sharon said laughingly. “He usually just listens to the rest of us complain about our partners.”

Robert laughed.

“Can we go through to the back now to hand out these treats?” Aaron said, feeling his cheeks burn.

“Sure, have fun. You can let your baby out if you want. The rest is inside.” Sharon said as they walked past her to the kennels.

“Your baby?” Robert asked.

“Yeah that’s what she calls Bruce. That dog I told you about.”

“Oh right, the one you fell in love with on your first day.”

“He’s really smart and friendly when you get to know him. But most people just want something cute and small for the kids.” Aaron told him. “Let’s start with Daisy and her puppies and then we’ll get to Bruce last and let him run around outside for a bit.”

“Bruce, Daisy. Who named these dogs?” Robert muttered under his breath.

They played with the dogs for a while and Aaron was obviously happy and comfortable. Robert loved seeing him like that.

“Careful I bite?” Robert read the sign on Bruce’s kennel.

“He doesn’t bite.”

“That’s not what the sign says.”

“That’s just a precaution.” Aaron replied, crouching down in front of the kennel. “He’s a good guy really. Aren’t you mate?”

The dog walked up to the bars and greeted Aaron by sniffing his hand and letting the man scratch him behind his ears.

Robert watched as Aaron fed the dog some treats and he had to admit he looked friendly enough.

“Come here. Come say hi.” Aaron said and Robert crouched down next to his husband and put his hand up to the bars on the kennel.

“I guess it helps that I had to use your shower gel this morning because Noah stole mine again.” He said when the dog sniffed his hand and seemed to approve of him.

Aaron laughed.

“Maybe you should just give him your stash then and we’ll share mine. Save some money that we can use on the house.”

“No chance.” Robert replied laughingly as he watched Aaron get up and grab a lead and a muzzle from a nearby hook. “I thought you said he doesn’t bite?”

“He doesn’t, I promise. It’s fine. Just protocol.” Aaron said as if that explained everything, and opened the kennel before putting the muzzle on the dog.

“Right…”

“Just come outside with me. He likes tennis balls. Throw a ball for him a few times and he’ll be your best friend.”

They went outside with the dog and Aaron took the muzzle and lead off and let him sniff around a little.

“I’m going to keep volunteering here when my time is up.” Aaron told Robert. “I talked to Darren about it already. He said I’m more than welcome to.”

“Where will you find the time? Between the yard and the house and Liv you’d need more hours in the day to come here too.”

“I can make it work.” Aaron replied with a shrug. “Saturday mornings. Maybe Sundays too. And you could come along. And Liv too.”

“Liv? You have met your sister haven’t you? I don’t think she’ll get up early on weekends to come clean kennels here.”

“Maybe. We’ll see. But you’ll come along, won’t you?” Aaron asked, hopeful.

Robert smiled.

“Yeah I suppose I can free up some time to come see your great love with you.” He teased and picked up one of the tennis balls lying around the field, immediately catching Bruce’s attention.

“Go on, throw it. He loves that.”

Robert threw the ball and Bruce happily chased after it before dropping it at his feet again.

“Alright that’s enough now.” Robert said, rubbing his shoulder after both he and Aaron had spent the largest part of an hour throwing a tennis ball around the field behind the shelter. “My shoulder is getting sore, we’ll continue this next time ok?” He told the dog.

The next few weeks most of their weekends were spent at the shelter helping out and playing with the dogs.

“Aren’t you a bit over dressed to be cleaning kennels?” Aaron asked when he walked back into his and Robert’s bedroom after his shower and saw his husband dressed in a suit and putting on a tie.

“Can’t come with today. Business meeting. Last minute thing. Nicola was supposed to go but she’s sick.”

“Can’t Jimmy go?”

“He doesn’t know this client and there’s no time to fill him in.” Robert said apologetically. “I’m sorry. How about we meet in Hotton for lunch? You, me, and Liv. Just the three of us.”

Aaron sighed.

“Alright.”

“Great.” Robert said, shrugging on his suit jacket. “How about that Italian restaurant we went with Vic and Adam the other day?” He asked and Aaron nodded. “Text me when you’re leaving the shelter.” He pecked Aaron’s lips and murmured an I love you before rushing down the stairs and out the door.

“Why do I have to come if Rob’s not coming either?” Liv complained as Aaron parked his car in front of the shelter a while later.

“You don’t have to but I thought you liked it?”

Liv shrugged.

“Yeah but it’s Saturday isn’t it. I could have slept in.”

“Better luck next time.” Aaron snapped and went inside.

“Hey no Robert today?” Sharon asked.

“No, last minute work thing came up. His partner is sick so he had to step in.” Aaron explained. “I’m just going to get started in there, yeah?”

He worked alongside Darren for most of the morning, only speaking when necessary. He knew he was being stupid. It wasn’t Robert’s fault that Nicola was sick. It wasn’t her fault she got sick. He had no reason to be in such a bad mood, and yet he was. He’d planned on talking to Robert about adopting Bruce while they played fetch with him like they did every week when they were done cleaning.

“I’ll talk to him over lunch.” He said as he scratched Bruce behind his ear.

“Text Rob for me, will you. Tell him we’re on our way.” Aaron told Liv and handed her his phone when he drove them to Hotton a few hours later.

“Oh, he’s already texted you. He’s not coming.”

“What?”

“Meeting is running late. See you at home. Xxx” Liv said reading the text out loud. “Let’s just get some McDonald’s and head back to grab our stuff and go home.”

Aaron nodded.

“Yeah, yeah, ok.”

When they got back to the shelter about an hour later Sharon gave him a sympathetic look.

“Alright?”

“There’s something you should know… something happened while you were away.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Bruce was just adopted.”

Aaron’s heart sank.

“He what? I didn’t know anyone was interested in him…”

“It all happened pretty quickly.”

“Who adopted him?” Liv asked.

“He’ll be living with a couple and a teenager. They have a big house and a garden for him to play in.”

“Oh… well… that’s good then. Good for him. He deserves a good home. Anyway, we’re heading home. See you next week.” Aaron said and turned around and walked back to his car.

During the drive home he made himself focus on the road and tried not to think of someone else adopting _his_ dog because he’d been too slow.

“Oh hey Rob’s home already.” Liv said when she saw Robert’s car parked in front of The Mill in its usual spot. They'd moved in only a week before and there was still a lot of work to be done but it already felt like home.

“Robert?” Aaron called out when they entered the house but instead of his husband he saw a note telling him to come into the garden.

He frowned in confusion and looked at Liv who just shrugged.

When he opened the back door and stepped into the garden a tennis ball came soaring past his head.

“What the hell…” He muttered and then saw a familiar flash of dark fur run after the ball.

“Surprise!” Robert and Liv yelled together and Bruce dropped the tennis ball at his feet.

“What’s this? You adopted him?” Aaron asked looking from Robert to the dog and back.

“ _We_ did. I know how much you love that dog, I didn’t want to risk someone else adopting him.”

“Everyone was in on it.” Liv told him. “He didn’t have a meeting, he went dog supply shopping in Leeds.”

“And I picked him up on the way back when you two were out to lunch.”

Aaron smiled and kissed the top of his sister’s head and his husband’s lips.

“This is amazing. You two are amazing.” He said and crouched down in front of Bruce. “And so are you.”

Robert crouched down next to him and petted the dog.

“We’re changing his name though. I am not calling him Bruce any longer.”

**Author's Note:**

> so yeah, I seem to seriously have a thing for Robron with dogs. Get Robron a dog 2K17!
> 
> comments/kudos always welcome and appreciated!
> 
> come say hi on tumblr: sugdenlovesdingle


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